MCCORMICK, S.C. (May 18, 2015) – Brian Tidwell of Seneca, South Carolina, weighed a five-bass limit totaling 17 pounds, 11 ounces Saturday to win the Bass Fishing League South Carolina Division tournament on Clarks Hill Lake. For his victory, Tidwell earned $3,021.
“There’s lot of talent in this division so winning is a big accomplishment for me,” said Tidwell. “I’ve fished a lot of FLW events before, but have never won one. I couldn’t be happier with how my day turned out.”
Tidwell said he focused on lower-lake clay points, in 10- to 15-foot depths, near the Clarks Hill Dam.
“Of the 20 points that I hit, there were six that really fired so I spent my day rotating through them,” said Tidwell. “I lost a 5- and 3-pounder around 8:45 a.m. and thought I was out of contention already.”
Tidwell said that he recovered and caught his winning stringer on a Carolina-rigged green-pumpkin Zoom Trick Worm. Around 2:00 p.m., he fired up a school and caught a 3-pound kicker on a chrome-colored Heddon Zara Spook to secure his win. Tidwell said he ended up catching a total of eight fish.
“The key was slowing down and using the Carolina-rigged Trick Worm. Other anglers were throwing topwater baits but I knew they were too fast for this time of the season,” concluded Tidwell.
The top 10 boaters finished the tournament in:
1st: Brian Tidwell, Seneca, S.C., five bass, 17-11, $3,021
2nd: Kameron Harbin, Abbeville, S.C., five bass, 17-5, $1,511
3rd: Sammy Moody, Mauldin, S.C., five bass, 16-4, $1,007
4th: Wendell Causey, Jr., Columbia, S.C., five bass, 15-9, $705
5th: Chris Marshall, Forest City, N.C., five bass, 15-4, $604
6th: Joey Spradley, Gloverville, S.C., five bass, 14-15, $554
7th: Chris Baldwin, Lexington, N.C., five bass, 14-5, $504
8th: Carl Smith, Lugoff, S.C., five bass, 13-8, $453
9th: Anthony Marks, Spartanburg, S.C., five bass, 13-3, $403
10th: Ross Burns, Columbia, S.C., five bass, 13-2, $352
Marks caught the biggest bass of the tournament in the pro division, a fish weighing 6 pounds, 2 ounces and earned the day’s Big Bass award of $345. Greg Glouse of Liberty, South Carolina, weighed in five bass totaling 12 pounds, 14 ounces Saturday to win $1,511 in the co-angler division. The top 10 co-anglers were:
1st: Greg Glouse, Liberty, S.C., five bass, 12-14, $1,511
2nd: Michael Smith, Piedmont, S.C., five bass, 11-15, $755
3rd: Calvin Sharp, Round O, S.C., five bass, 10-12, $504
4th: John Wilson, Six Mile, S.C., five bass, 9-13, $352
5th: Tim Kuykendall, Laurens, S.C., five bass, 8-13, $302
6th: Tony Everhart, Gaffney, S.C., four bass, 8-5, $277
7th: Richie Dixon, Camden, S.C., three bass, 7-15, $252
8th: Tristen Trull, Mount Holly, N.C., five bass, 7-13, $227
9th: Carluss King, Galivants Ferry, S.C., four bass, 6-10, $201
10th: Adam Fincher, Roebuck, S.C., three bass, 6-3, $176
Smith caught the biggest bass of the tournament in the co-angler division and earned the day’s Big Bass award of $172.
The top 50 boaters and 50 co-anglers based on point standings will qualify for the Oct. 8-10 Regional Championship on Lake Sinclair in Milledgeville, Georgia. Boaters will compete for a top award of a Ranger Z518C with a 200-horsepower Evinrude or Mercury outboard and $20,000, while co-anglers will fish for a new Ranger Z518C with a 200-horsepower Evinrude or Mercury outboard.